


walking on a tightrope

by buck_begins



Series: Chimney Week 2020 [2]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Angst, Gen, chim is the focus here, its background, madney is mentioned but
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:21:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25928071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buck_begins/pseuds/buck_begins
Summary: Chim was having the week from hell. Bobby was off getting some recertifications, forcing Chim to step up into the captain role. He had learned a lot from the last time he had to be captain, but it didn’t end well at all. He had been on edge this whole week, making sure he wasn’t the awful Captain Chim he was last time, and making sure the team didn’t get hurt. Then he had two babies getting their first teeth at home, which didn’t help his mood at all. He was exhausted, and couldn’t wait for Bobby to get back to the station and take back over.Day 2: “you look like shit”  + angst
Relationships: Howie "Chimney" Han & Henrietta "Hen" Wilson, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Chimney Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1873105
Kudos: 2





	walking on a tightrope

Chim was having the week from hell. Bobby was off getting some recertifications, forcing Chim to step up into the captain role. He had learned a lot from the last time he had to be captain, but it didn’t end well at all. He had been on edge this whole week, making sure he wasn’t the awful Captain Chim he was last time, and making sure the team didn’t get hurt. Then he had two babies getting their first teeth at home, which didn’t help his mood at all. He was exhausted, and couldn’t wait for Bobby to get back to the station and take back over. 

The sheer volume of calls didn’t help either. There was something about living in L.A. that seemed to take away all of people’s brain cells. Accidents like natural disasters, fires, or car crashes were one thing, but people climbing trees and getting stuck, or people trying to fake a break in and getting the wrong house were just things that were pushing Chim to his limit. He really could only put up with so much in a day. Dealing with a massive pile up in the rain was the last straw for him.

It would have been an awful call on a normal day. The cars were blocking all lanes of traffic, making it hard to get to the scene. When they actually got there, the scene was already in a state of disarray. It was hard to figure out how many people were involved, with many passed out and unable to tell if there had been other passengers. With the awful lighting from the rain, searching was even more difficult when it turns out they were missing a person. The rain made everything slippery, making the whole operation even more difficult. The rescue operation took 30 minutes, luckily no one had been critically injured, but the clean up took 2 hours. By the time they got back to the station, Chim drenched and somehow covered in mud.

“You look like shit.” Hen told him, clearly trying to joke and ease some of the tension. They were nearing the end of a 24 hour shift, and they all would have been a little cranky regardless.

“Well, I feel like shit Hen.” Chim snapped back. He regretted the tone immediately, but it was already said. He ran a hand down his face before letting out a sigh “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said it like that. It’s just been a long day.” He started to pull off his mud caked uniform.

Hen reached out and squeezed Chim’s shoulder. “If you need help, just ask for it. We know you’re under stress, and we’re all here for you.” She knew her friend. He was under pressure to do well as Captain, and his home life was stressful. She had heard rumors this was a trial run for Chim, and that they were thinking of offering him the captain position over at the 77. She also knew how unfun it was to actually have a child all the time. Denny and Nia had both been messes through the teething phase, and she couldn’t imagine how it would be to have two going through it at one time. Chim was the kind of person that would ask for help, or at least he had been. Hen was sure if he needed it he would reach out. They had done their best to make the 118 a family and a support system. 

Chim gave Hen a weak smile. “I will, now go clean off. None of us want to clean mud off the whole station.” He walked into the captain’s office after taking off his gear, and collapsed into the chair. The mound of paperwork he had stared blankly back at him. He never realized exactly how much paperwork there was. Every single incident had so many different forms he had to fill out. If the ambulance got sent to a hospital, there was a whole pile of forms for the person who got injured, for the department, and the insurance companies. It just didn’t make sense to him why they couldn’t all just use one form. Most of the information was the same, there were only a few questions different on each form. 

All the paperwork had Chim walking on a tightrope. He needed to finish the paperwork, but he couldn’t seem to catch a break on shift. Every day they were constantly busy on calls, giving him no time to finish paperwork. That meant he could either stay at the station late, or take the paperwork home with him and finish it there. Neither was a good option. Staying at the station meant more time away from his family, and he didn’t want that. He wanted to be with his family, spending as much time with them as they continued to adjust to being a larger family. But he also knew as soon as he stepped through the door he wouldn’t get any work done. He would want to spend time with his family, and help take some of the stress off Maddie. He had to balance the two, walking the line. He stayed a little extra at work, and brought some of the work home. It was the only way for him to keep a balance between the two. 

Cap would be back soon, only two more days. Chim could power through this. He could do two days. He would catch up on his paperwork, enjoy the time with his family, and then hang up the captain’s helmet for a long time. He was happy where he was. Sure, being in charge of the paramedics was hard sometimes, but he always had Bobby to rely on if he messed up. He needed that reassurance, at least for now. Maybe when his kids were older he could think about being a captain again, but for now he just needed to focus on staying on his tightrope. Letting either of his families down was a thought that he couldn’t even allow himself to think. He wouldn’t allow either of them to feel like he failed them.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry?


End file.
